A special vaccination drive to protect an estimated 48 lakh children, aged between one to fifteen years, against Japanese Encephalitis (JE) will be held in Karnataka from today, December 5, 2022 and will go on for three weeks.
Encephalitis is a brain inflammation caused by infection or an allergic reaction. In India, JE is one of the most common causes of encephalitis, with 68,000 cases reported each year. "Among these, the death rate is around 20-30%. Of those who are cured, 30-50% end up with sensory and motor weakness, and other permanent physical and mental disabilities," Karnataka Health Minister K Sudhakar said on Sunday, December 4, stated a report by PTI.

JE is caused by a flavivirus, which is primarily transmitted by Culex mosquitos. The virus is kept alive in pigs and wild birds, which are known as amplifier hosts. While man is the terminal host. Minister Sudhakar stated that the special vaccination drive will take place in the first week of December and will primarily target private and public schools. Following that, the drive will focus on health institutions, anganwadi centres and so on over the next two weeks. "The Union Health Ministry will be supplying us with the Jenvac vaccine to conduct the drive," he added, as reported by PTI.

Bellary, Raichur, Koppal, Vijayapur, Chikkaballapur, Kolar, Mandya, Dharwad, Chitradurga, and Davanagere districts have been identified as the ten endemic districts for this virus under the Karnataka Universal Immunisation Programme. In these districts, children receive the JE vaccine after nine months and the second dose is administered at the age of 1.5 years, stated the PTI report.